Bigger Spin / EP 012 - Eric Antoine

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Luxeuil

 

Luxeuil-les-Bains is where it all started for Eric.

Hereby pictured alongside Miki the cat and on roller skates, he's probably lucky things then took the turns they did.

 

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Rip Saw

Eric BMX'd around for a while then saw a Schmitt Stix “Saw”, and something clicked.

His parents bought him his first board whilst on a holiday trip to île d’Oléron, and let him choose in between two Powell Peraltas : a Ripper or a Tommy Guerrero.

 

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Cronenbourg

Eric then moved to Cronenbourg, a district of Strasbourg.

The neon lights from the brewery used to reflect in his sister's window.

Here's Eric's neighbor there, Vincent Bohn, all geared up for a big fat ollie one-foot in a Frankie Hill shirt, circa 1991…

 

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Public Domain

The first video Eric watched on repeat, with Vincent.

The VHS came out in 1988…

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Big Apple

1995. Departure to N.Y.C. in order to catch up with his friend Arnaud Durant; a new day is here at last.

Skateboarding aplenty, and first photographic attempts, i.e.. with Harold Hunter, wallride against the grain below.

 

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Macintosh

The notorious Lamont Macintosh winter handrail grind photo.

The flick came out in Flat magazine, and Soy Panday remembers the color of the beanie to this day…

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Beautiful Losers

A handful of “Beautiful Losers”, with a young Benjamin Deberdt on the very right.

New York City in 1995 was synonymous with the launch of an art movement with ties to skateboarding, and in this case to the movie "Kids" (Michelle, on the left, was in the film).

 

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Loki

Loki ollieing a tall barrier...

1996: Eric is in between Supreme and Brooklyn, Strasbourg and New York…

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Oli Buergin & Sole Tech

After his New York experience, Eric met Oli Buergin, around the crucial time of the launch of Sole Tech Europe.

Sole Tech is home to Etnies, éS and Emerica, three shoe companies killing it in the late nineties.

Eric quickly became the staff photographer for Europe, and started going on tours frequently.

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Andy MacDonald

A random glimpse into Eric and Oli's first winter together in Los Angeles, at Andy MacDonald's. A pro vert skater, he never quite was the dream factory but always way really nice, and shared his excess with his close ones.

That's also when Eric met P-Stone, aka. skate filmer Preston Maigetter, who unfortunately passed away last year in a tragic car accident also involving skateboarder Cory Kennedy.

At this eighties-themed costume party, Eric is wearing a Deco hat and Tony Hawk... diapers?

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David Carson

A talented graphic designer, David Carson has inspired many.

He did the layouts for TransWorld years 1984 to 1988, and his work influenced Eric back when he had to set up the original www.skateboardeurope.com.

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No warm-up

Leo Romero just got out of the van and made this backside nosegrind first try, no warm-up.

One of the many stories on the many Emerica tours through Europe.

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The Boss

Andrew Reynolds, nollie flipping above, kickflipping the skatepark funbox below.

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Heath Kirchart

Heath Kirchart, the notorious one…

 

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Gallery

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Eric Koston, frontside tailslide.

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Rick McCrank, backside lipslide all the while covering Atiba Jefferson.

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Young and artless Leo Romero & Spanky.

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The infamous éS tour, somehow featuring Tom Penny!

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Tom Penny, kickflip drop-in...

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Pontus Alv, kamikaze slasher.

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Hans Claessens, backside noseblunt, Strasbourg train station.

 

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Gauthier Rouger

As a guest on multiple tours, Eric got to shoot with him a lot.

Backside smith grind.

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Phil Zwijsen in Rotterdam

One of the last skate photos Eric took for a contest set up by Kingpin Magazine: Phil Zwijsen, wall bash in Rotterdam.

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Robb Kendrick & the collodion process

After skateboarding, the collodion process is what won Eric's heart, and something he quickly started to practice around his neighborhood.

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Images to remember

We couldn't find the ad featuring Geoff Rowley juggling with grenades, but we did find the other of Eric's picks which were Matt Hensley's sombrero photo by Sturt, and that one Chet Childress pool photo.

He also brought up Ed Templeton in a cervical collar shot by Benjamin Deberdt.

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His own favorites

David Martelleur with a black eye, the broken finger, the kid in a home-made "Thracher" shirt in Moscow and Brandon Westgate kickflipping over a hubba in Istanbul, Turkey.

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ALBAN'S QUESTIONS

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Rubber Boys - 1988

The part Eric chooses to keep, from “Public Domain”. The first video he ever saw.

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Grant Taylor

Not much to say that we don't know already by now...

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Eric Antoine can be found on the internets here, and on the Instagrams here and here.